Eitreih'orheika, Eitreih'Aylhr, u'Eitreih'Qiuu'n, 2015

Eitreih'orheika,

Eitreih'Aylhr,

u'Eitreih'Qiuu'n,

2015

Festival of the Ancestors,

Festival of Space,

and Festival of the Arch-Element,

2015

Earlier tonight, the Tal'Diann, with a few allied guests from the Imperial Union of Planets, the House of Beautiful Orions, and elsewhere within the RRF, observed the traditional Romulan and Reman holidays of Eitreih'orheika, Eitreih'Aylhr, and Eitreih'Qiuu'n on Risa, south of the Promenade at the Suraya Bay Resort.  The affair was cozy, a smaller crowd than was expected, but nevertheless, a moving experience.  We have preserved a record of the event, which we present here below.

The crowd gathered, the ceremonies not yet begun.

The ceremonies began.

Aefvadh, Rihannsu, Havrannsu, u'pinherein.

Eitreih'orheika 2015 (2410)

Ji'ana t'Charvon:  Aefvadh, Rihannsu, Havrannsu, u'pinherein.  Be welcome, Romulans, Remans, and guests.

Ji'ana t'Charvon:  Tonight we are gathered to celebrate traditional Romulan and Reman holidays.

Ji'ana t'Charvon:  In civilian life, these three holidays would be celebrated on three consecutive nights and days.

Ji'ana t'Charvon:  However, military personnel can seldom take advantage of such extended celebration, due to the need to remain vigilant against threats and potential threats.

Ji'ana t'Charvon:  Nevertheless, were we in the military to skip these traditional holidays entirely, we would run the risk of forgetting some of the reasons we serve.

Ji'ana t'Charvon:  Romulan and Reman culture, and the protection, preservation, and promotion thereof, are among the things which make us who we are, and are among the things for which we fight against those who would oppress, enslave, or exterminate us.

Ji'ana t'Charvon:  These holidays are traditionally observed by each Hfihar, or Houseclan, and in local temples, shrines, groves, high places, and the like.

Ji'ana t'Charvon:  The first holiday we celebrate tonight is Eitreih'orheika, the Festival of the Ancestors.

Ji'ana t'Charvon:  Eitreih'orheika is traditionally celebrated near a body of water, for water, in Romulan and Reman traditional symbolism, represents the Past.

Ji'ana t'Charvon:  On this holiday, we remember our Ancestors who have crossed over to Vorta Vor since the last year's celebration of the holiday.

Ji'ana t'Charvon:  This remembrance, however, is not limited to Ancestors of Body alone, but also includes Ancestors of Hachae, or Soul.

Karataia u'Ji'ana

Kara t'Charvon:  An Ancestor of Hachae is someone who has contributed to the intellectual and/or emotional aspects of a person, someone who has inspired, someone who has taught, someone who has helped to make the person what they are today.

Kara t'Charvon:  Musicians and Philosophers, Educators and Authors, Clergy and Warriors, Mentors and Role Models, all of these may be included by the individual as Ancestors of Hachae.

Kara t'Charvon:  We have all lost comrades in the past year, over the course of wars and battles.

Kara t'Charvon:  Some have fallen to disease, others to old age.

Kara t'Charvon:  Death comes for us in different guises.

Kara t'Charvon:  However, our Legacy lives!

Kara t'Charvon:  We continue in the memories of those who knew and loved us in life.

Kara t'Charvon:  We continue in those whom we have inspired, whom we have taught, whom we have led, whom we have followed.

Kara t'Charvon:  We continue in the Legacy which we bequeath to the future.

Kara t'Charvon:  When we who are yet living remember those who have gone before us into the Great Mystery, we keep their Legacy alive.

Kara t'Charvon:  When we live and carry on what they have taught us and inspired in us, we Honor these Ancestors, whether they were Ancestors of Body or Ancestors of Hachae.

Amon tr'Aegis:  We are all of us products of the Past, products of those who have gone before us.

Amon tr'Aegis:  We are also, however, free.

Amon tr'Aegis:  We are not slaves to the Past.  Ancestors of Hachae contribute to our freedom.

Amon tr'Aegis:  Regardless of genetics and upbringing, those who teach us, who inspire us, who entertain us, all of these and more contribute to our own choices.

Amon tr'Aegis:  While we remember the Past, we live in the Present, and work toward a better Future.

Amon tr'Aegis:  We Honor the Past.  We Respect the Present.  We work for a Worthy Future for those who will come after us.

Amon tr'Aegis:  Eitreih'orheika is about all of these things:  Past, Present, and Future, although it focuses on the Past.

Amon tr'Aegis:  We have mourned those who have gone on into the Unknown through the past year.  We will now give them one final memorial before moving on.

Amon tr'Aegis:  This does not mean, of course, that we will forget them after this night.

Amon tr'Aegis:  They are, and will always be, with us.

Amon tr'Aegis:  With no further ado, we proceed to the recitation of the names of the departed.

Ji'ana t'Charvon:  Rhodes Reason (the 892-IV native gladiator Flavius Maximus, "Bread and Circuses") 19 April 1930 - 26 December 2014 (aged 84)

Kara t'Charvon:  Alan Marcus (Yeoman Samno in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country) died 9 January 2015.

Amon tr'Aegis:  Barrie Ingham (Danilo Odell in the 1989 Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Up The Long Ladder") 10 February 1932 – 23 January 2015 (aged 82)

Ji'ana t'Charvon:  John M. Miranda (one of the two garbagemen in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.) 27 May 1926 – 3 February 2015 (aged 88)

Kara t'Charvon:  Maurice "Maury" Edward Hurley (a producer and writer on Star Trek: The Next Generation.) 16 August 1939 – 24 February 2015 (aged 75)

Amon tr'Aegis:  Harve Bennett (Executive Producer and Co-Story-Developer on Star Trek III: The Wrath of Khan, script writer and producer on Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Voice of Flight Recorder in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Producer, Co-Story-Developer, and Co-Scriptwriter on Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Producer and Co-Story-Developer on Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, Starfleet Chief of Staff Admiral Robert Bennett in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier) 17 August 1930 - 25 February 2015 (aged 84)

Ji'ana t'Charvon:  Jen Oda (the female Ayt in the 2013 sequel Star Trek: Into Darkness) 21 April 1983 – 25 February 2015 (aged 31)

Kara t'Charvon:  Leonard

Amon tr'Aegis:  Nimoy

Ji'ana t'Charvon:  *~_ ( Spock ) _~*

Kara t'Charvon:  26 March 1931 - 27 February 2015

Amon tr'Aegis:  (aged 83)

Ji'ana t'Charvon:  Edward "Eddie" Louis Joseph Hice (stuntman and stunt actor Security Guard, "Day of the Dove," "Wink of an Eye," stuntman and stunt actor Mercy Hospital patient, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home) 1 March 1930 - 12 March 2015 (aged 85)

Kara t'Charvon:  Jeri McBride (Enterprise crewmember, Star Trek: The Motion Picture) died 15 March 2015

Amon tr'Aegis:  Tom Towles (Hon-Tihl, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, "Dramatis Personae", Doctor Vatm, Star Trek: Voyager, "Rise") 20 March 1950 - 5 April 2015 (aged 65)

Ji'ana t'Charvon:  Richard Anthony (born Richard Anthony Btesh) (Rider, "Spectre of the Gun" -- also appeared in "Dagger of the Mind") 13 January 1938 - 20 April 2015 (aged 77)

Kara t'Charvon:  Don M. Mankiewicz (storywriter, co-teleplay writer, "Court Martial") 20 January 1922 - 25 April 2015 (aged 93)

Amon tr'Aegis:  Leon "Rusty" McClennon (stuntman, stunt actor, stunt double for Michael Dorn on Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Generations) 14 September 1961 - 30 April 2015 (aged 53)

Ji'ana t'Charvon:  Grace

Kara t'Charvon:  Lee

Amon tr'Aegis:  Whitney

Ji'ana t'Charvon:  (Janice Rand)

Kara t'Charvon:  1 April 1930 - 1 May 2015

Amon tr'Aegis:  ( aged 85 )

Ji'ana t'Charvon:  Ellen Albertini Dow (Felisa Howard [Beverly Crusher's grandmother], Star Trek: The Next Generation, "Sub Rosa") 16 November 1913 - 4 May 2015 (aged 101)

Kara t'Charvon:  William Newman (Kalin Trose, Star Trek: The Next Generation, "The Host") 15 June 1934 - 27 May 2015 (aged 80)

Amon tr'Aegis:  Carolyne Barry (the Metron, "Arena" -- also a female Engineer in Star Trek: The Next Generation "Home Soil") 20 July 1943 - 16 June 2015 (aged 71)

Ji'ana t'Charvon:  James Horner (Composer and Conductor, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock;  appears in Star Trek II in a brief non-speaking role as a Training Crew Officer) 14 August 1953 - 22 June 2015 (aged 61)

Kara t'Charvon:  Olaf Pooley (the Cleric, Star Trek: Voyager, "Blink of an Eye") 13 March 1914 - 14 July 2015 (aged 101)

Amon tr'Aegis:  David "Dave" Troy Somerville -- credited as David-Troy (Lieutenant Larry Matson in the episode "The Conscience of the King") 2 October 1933 – 14 July 2015 (aged 81)

Ji'ana t'Charvon:  George Coe (Chancellor Avel Durken in the Star Trek: The Next Generation fourth season episode "First Contact") 10 May 1929 – 18 July 2015 (aged 86)

Kara t'Charvon:  Theodore Meir Bikel (Sergey Rozhenko [Worf's adoptive father] Star Trek: The Next Generation, "Family") 2 May 1924 – 21 July 2015 (aged 91)

Amon tr'Aegis:  Terrence Evance (Baltrim in Star Trek:  Deep Space Nine, Proka Migdal and Ambassador Treen  in Star Trek:  Voyager) 21 June 1934 - 7 August 2015 (aged 81)

Ji'ana t'Charvon:  Yvonne Craig (Marta, "Whom Gods Destroy") May 16, 1937 - 17 August 2015
( aged 78 )

Kara t'Charvon:  Alan D. Purwin (helicopter pilot, stunt pilot, aeria coordinator, worked as a helicopter pilot on 2009's Star Trek) 28 August 1961 - 11 September 2015 (aged 54)

Amon tr'Aegis:  Catherine Elizabeth Coulson (First Camera Assistant, Star Trek II:  The Wrath of Khan) 22 October 1943 - 28 September 2015 (aged 71)

Ji'ana t'Charvon:  Bruce Hyde (Lt. Kevin T. Riley, "The Naked Time" and "The Conscience of the King) 14 September 1941 - 13 October 2015 ( aged 74 )

Kara t'Charvon:  Telrine i'Mnaeha t'Vrinak (Operative of the Temporal Intelligence Division of the Military Intelligence Wing of the Tal'Diann, killed in the line of duty fulfilling her mission) 2376 - 2153 (aged 34).

Amon tr'Aegis:  And last, but by no means least, ...

Ji'ana t'Charvon:  Khoal ei'Laheiin ei'Rllaillieu tr'Charvon (my Father) 2174 - 2410 (aged 236)

Kara t'Charvon:  We will observe a moment of silence to reflect on these persons who have entered Vorta Vor ahead of us.

...
*A few minutes passed, and then the fire was extinguished*
...

Amon tr'Aegis:  Thank you all for sharing in our ceremony Honoring the Ancestors.  We shall observe a brief intermission before proceeding to the celebration of Eitreih'Aylhr, the Festival of Space.

Eitreih'Aylhr 2015 (2410)

Ji'ana ir'Vastam t'Charvon: We have Honored the Past.

Ji'ana: We shall now show our Respect for the Present.

Ji'ana: Eitreih'Aylhr, the Festival of Space, or the Festival of the Void, follows Eitreih'orheika, and symbolically represents the Present.

Ji'ana:  Even the Stars are frail compared to the Void of Space between them.

Karataia ir'Vastam t'Charvon:  Space, the Void, is a vast frontier of unexplored darkness.

Amon ei'Xiomek tr'Aegis:  The Star Road traces a path through this enormous Emptiness.

Ji'ana:  The story is told of a well-educated scholar who sought out a famous mystic in order to learn from her.

Kara:  The scholar boasted of his achievements, the books he had read, the musical instruments he had mastered, the languages he spoke, his training in the finest academies, colleges, and universities, in an effort to impress the mystic so that she would accept him as a disciple.

Amon:  After listening patiently for a long while, the mystic said she was going to prepare some tea for them.

Ji'ana:  She went into another room of her home and remained away for an extended time.

Kara:  The scholar became concerned and went to look for her.

Amon:  He found the mystic holding a teapot under a fountain of running water, which had filled the teapot and was running over and out, down the drain.

Ji'ana:  The scholar asked what she was doing, and the mystic answered that she was filling the teapot with water.

Kara:  The scholar exclaimed, "But it's already full!  It can't hold any more water!"

Amon:  At that, the mystic shut the fountain off and poured the excess water down the drain, then set the teapot on the fire to boil, and calmly walked back into her sitting room.

Ji'ana:  The scholar followed, confused.

Kara:  When they had both taken their seats again, the mystic looked keenly at the scholar and explained, "Like the teapot, you are full to overflowing.  In order for you to hold what I can teach, you must first empty yourself and make room."

Amon:  Just as knowledge has value, so too does Emptiness offer opportunity for knowledge.

Amon:  Ignorance is no crime;  willful ignorance is a vice.

Kara:  Knowledge is a virtue;  dogmatic arrogance is undesirable.

Ji'ana:  In order to learn, one must recognize that she or he has yet to attain all knowledge.

Amon:  Wisdom comes from acknowledging that one can always learn more, and that additional knowledge may reveal errors in what one believes that she or he knows.

Kara:  But in order for learning to happen, there must be some Space for it.

Ji'ana:  Let the Declared Travelers reflect on the Void and accept that the Void is within all things, and all persons, and must be, as we observe a moment of silence.

Eitreih'Qiuu'n 2015 (2410)

Ji'ana ir'Vastam t'Charvon: After Eitreih'Aylhr, the Festival of Space, or the Festival of the Void, follows Eitreih'Qiuu'n.

Ji'ana ir'Vastam t'Charvon: This is often said to mean "Festival of the Arch-Element," but literally, it means "Festival of All-Things."

Ji'ana ir'Vastam t'Charvon: It is a celebration of the Potent Allseed Potentiality endowed with all Powers inherent in the Plenitude, or the Fullness, the Pleroma.

Ji'ana ir'Vastam t'Charvon: When we think of the Arch-Element, the Quintessence, that which permeates all and is all, we recognize Potentiality.

Ji'ana ir'Vastam t'Charvon: The Future comes always, and we endeavor to be ready for it as it comes, so that we may build a Worthy Legacy for those who will come after us.

Ji'ana ir'Vastam t'Charvon: Thank you all for attending these ceremonies.

Ji'ana ir'Vastam t'Charvon: The bar is open.  Let the celebrations commence!

Celebrations after the Ceremonies

Praetor Ji'ana's flagship, the R.R.W. Paenhe A'rhea, prepares to return to Republic space.